Choosing the right console for your house of worship is the first step in building the best audio mix for worship. However, narrowing down your choices from the seemingly limitless options available can be a daunting task, especially if (like most audio nerds) all the ‘bells and whistles’ excite you.

When it comes time to choosing a new console, there are several factors to consider. Knowing what you will be mixing on the console is key – the greater the mix demands, the more of those nifty bells and whistles you will need!

Future Growth
Are there future growth plans that could change your immediate mixer needs? If your house of worship is currently portable and only using a small worship band (think drummer, lead guitar, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar) with some or all musicians pulling double-duty as vocalists, you only have your pastor using a headset mic, and you are feeding the mix to on-stage monitors and a portable speaker system, your I/O needs will be relatively small.

Many houses of worship have discovered that multimedia projectors enable them to engage their congregations and to enhance worship experiences in sanctuaries, classrooms and other areas. To operate at optimal levels, projectors may require maintenance, performed either by your own tech staff or by an A/V service vendor.

Laser-based projectors
Laser projectors use advanced solid-state lighting technologies to project bright, uniform images. Current laser projectors are designed for 20,000 hours or more – in most cases. Because the replacement cycle of laser projectors’ light sources is a fraction of traditional lamps, their maintenance costs are dramatically lower. Some projectors provide maintenance-free operation. For houses of worship, which usually have relatively low usage per week, a laser projector will provide little or no maintenance for the projector’s entire expected lifetime.

There are few, if any, moments in history more significant than the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the very essence on which our faith in God and salvation is based. When I was first approached about doing a review of the Sibelius composing software, while composing an original piece for Easter, I was excited.

Five decades of intercom innovation, connecting people when communications matter

Clear-Com®, provider of real-time communications solutions and service, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding. Throughout the year, the company welcomes its employees, partners, users, and the wider pro-audio community across the world to commemorate the Clear-Com brand and all its rich history of innovation. This anniversary marks an important milestone for the company as it looks back on its incredible heritage of communications breakthroughs and the people who contributed to its success.

“Over the past 50 years, Clear-Com has grown to become one of the most recognized and highly sought-after communications brands in the Pro-Audio industry,” said Mitzi Dominguez, CEO of Clear-Com. “While our brand has become synonymous with various intercom products which allow professionals to work together at critical times, ultimately Clear-Com’s journey is a story about people who were pivotal within this business — visionary leaders of the past and present, alumni and current staff, committed partners, loyal users and industry influencers. This year we will look back on milestone moments of innovation and ingenuity, as well as looking forward to future possibilities for better communication.”

A Christmas tree, special carols and presents on December 24th: these much-loved traditions are all linked to Martin Luther. Start with the tree. While walking through snowy woods under a bright starlit sky, the beauty of the scene so moved Luther that he wanted to recreate it at home. So, he cut down a fresh tree, brought it inside and decorated it with real candles. Or so the story goes. What is known is that The Great Reformer composed the Christmas carol still sung today: “From Heaven above to earth I come, To bear good news to every home.” He also moved the date gifts were given from Saint Nicholas’ Day, December 6th, to Christmas Eve, December 24th.

Those are not the only Christmas customs for which Germany is known. Around the world, the country is famous for its Christmas markets. And nowhere are they more atmospheric than in LutherCountry, the German federal states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, an hour or so south of Berlin.

Tony Award-nominated Sound Designer Nevin Steinberg has created exceptional experiences for audiences of Hamilton, Avenue Q and Monty Python’s Spamalot. On June 13, he will join a lineup of influential storytellers for InfoComm International’s inaugural TIDE conference (Technology. Innovation. Design. Experience.), to be held one day prior to the InfoComm 2017 exposition in Orlando, Florida.

“Sound design is really about storytelling and attention to detail,” said Steinberg. “Our ears connect directly to emotional centers, mood centers, and even centers of peace and quiet. It’s a big part of my job to manage an audience’s expectations and help communicate the way a story gets told through this sensitive human network in the theater. Continuing to exploit advances in audio technology and synchronization while maintaining a direct connection between performers and patrons – that keeps me challenged and excited.”

BridgePoint Church in St. Petersburg, Florida has set the goal of reaching the entire St. Petersburg peninsula by planting ten campuses over ten years. To achieve this, BridgePoint needs to be relevant to the community and fully enable their volunteers. Jands Vista lighting control systems and Chroma-Q® Inspire™ house lighting, recommended and installed by Pendley Productions (based in Cumming, Georgia) – and supplied by A.C. Lighting Inc. – are playing a role in achieving this goal.

Jands Vista

Ensuring that volunteers are well equipped to work in any of their production spaces is a priority to BridgePoint. “We wanted to equip our spaces with the same control system, to have consistency with lighting,” states Michael McBride, lighting associate at BridgePoint. “We wanted to be able to start small, but build upon the lighting system as we grow. But we also wanted a system that is easy for volunteers to learn and operate – we want to focus on the volunteers, not on the gear.” Vista was the ideal system to meet these goals.

As part of its ongoing commitment to deliver the products and services and fully support integrators as technology continues to advance and evolve, Middle Atlantic Products has announced a full month of online training opportunities in celebration of AV Month 2016. As the AV community unites to celebrate, promote, and share the industry with the world, this is a great opportunity for integrators to deepen their expertise and knowledge to better meet the needs of installations today and in the future.

Covering some of the latest trends, challenges, and standards arising in the industry, each training session will equip attendees with techniques that can be directly applied in the field. Sessions will be offered online, allowing industry professionals everywhere easy access to the courses. All courses are InfoComm-CTS, BICSI, and AIA certified. Attendees who successfully complete all four courses can earn four CTS, BICSI, and/or AIA credits.

Bridge Street Community Church in Leeds, UK, has opened up a new worship building and outfitted the space with Elation Professional stage and broadcast lighting, designed, supplied and installed by Wigwam Acoustics. The new purpose-built Bridge Community Church is a multipurpose building catering for conferences and live events, as well as weekly church services. The newly completed development provides the church with a comprehensive community center that includes a 1000-capacity auditorium, café and other facilities.

“We use Elation products on all of our lighting installations due to the finished result and also the price of the units compared to similar products,” stated Tim Mortimer, Installations Manager at Wigwam Acoustics. Wigwam has a well established reputation for work in churches and cathedrals, so was well placed to design, supply and install a comprehensive stage lighting package for the auditorium. Wigwam also completed a state-of-the-art audiovisual installation across the development.